Letter: Presidential choice is simple

Dave Alexander (Guest column: Use truth, specificity, to support your candidate, Oct. 6, amarillo.com) took half a page to tell us who he is going to vote for in the election.

It is not that complicated.

Do you want a socialist nation with big government or do you want capitalism and small government? Capitalism and small government were responsible for the U.S. being the greatest country in the world.

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No, its not that complicated but, it does require that you have a basic understanding of politics as well as knowledge of what certain labels mean. According to Merrian-Webster, Socialism is : "any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods". Obama, is not close to being a Socialist, he is not even a liberal Democrat. Furthermore, instead of moving to the left our Country has been slowly but surely mover closer to the right, and if it keeps moving to the right, we will eventually be a full fledged Corporatocracy , or a country where corporations or corporate interests control the economic and political system. If you think this isn't true, just remember that Supreme Court ruled that corporation are people. Remember what started this economic mess we are in? Successful deregulation lobbied for by Big Business led to the crash of the stock market as well as the BP oil spill. allowed the stock market to crash and allowed. We now allow companies get tax deductions when they move our jobs to other countries, the very wealthiest 1% of this country pay lower tax rate than you and me. If you don't believe these things, research them for yourself, don't rely on information passed around by other "low information voters" (a term created for people like yourself who don't even have a basic grasp of politics but who instead vote based on scare tactics passed along from person to person). If you really want to find out the truth without researching it , I recommend a documentary called "Heist: Who Stole the American Dream". If you want your children to live a life as good or even better than you have, educate yourself, its important. Or, you can vote for the Romney ticket who will for the third time, will attempt to establish "Trickle Down Economics", a policy that has failed twice (under Reagan and Bush Jr.)but a successful strategy used to convince the hard working middle class that by giving Big Businesses breaks, we will all benefit but we won't.

James Madison, "Father of the Constitution" and chief author (1794): ""I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

angelina66 (10/13/12 at 6:38 pm) makes a couple of completely unsupportable statements. She claims "Obama is not close to being a Socialist; he is not even a liberal democrat." This despite his intervening, illegally, in the General Motors Bankruptcy petition and taking over ownership of that formerly stockholder owned corporation, and his telling at least two banking firms how much they can pay their chief officers.

To her, the country is not veering leftward, but is drifting rightward, showing she has no concept of reality. Anything that increases government control over our lives is a leftist direction, angelina. You cannot realistically state that obama's unconstitutional order requiring religious institutions to violate their religious precepts and pay for prescription contraceptives and the morning after abortion pill is a drift to the "right". Nor can you claim realistically that the unconstitutional (unaffordable) Affordable Care Act, which nationalizes health care is a drift in anything but toward more government control of our lives.

Funny thing is, angelina, the courts have held that corporations are legal entities since the 1820s when the first corporations appeared in this country. A business owned by thousands to millions of shareholders could not very well function efficiently if EVERY single shareholder had to sign every document the business used every single day. You assessment of the Citizens United SCOTUS case, in any event is quite wrong, for the Court held that non-profit/not-for-profit corporation executives could not be jailed for expressing a political statement in the final days before a primary or general election. That decision left intact the requirements that any entity making a political statement had to identify itself in that statement. And it left intact the ban on direct contributions by both corporations and unions to political candidates.

The reason that companies move their operations to other countries, angelina, is that excessive regulations, a sign of a leftward trend in government, have forced businesses to do so, in order to remain viable as a business.

Your claim that the "very wealthiest pay a lower tax rate than you or me" is also quite a blatant falsehood. The capital gains tax rate is no lower than the lowest marginal tax rate (10%) in 2012. Since capital gains is the profit one makes on an investment of money that has already been taxed at least once, it should not be taxed at all.

The top marginal income tax rate of 35%, that is applicable to all personal net taxable income over $388,350 (or a single taxpayer) is HIGHER than any other tax rate, punishing the most successful among us. That's why legal tax deductions have been written into income tax law that allow people to lower their net taxable income to a point where they pay income tax at a rate that isn't any higher than others.

Seems like the "trickle down theory" works pretty well, angelina. By cutting the top marginal tax rates tax revenues to the federal government have been at record highs for the last 15 years. When the top marginal rates were over 70% we did not have near the tax revenue that we have now with top marginal rates of 35%.

you don't even have a basic understanding of economics. Capital gains should not even be taxed at all? So once you have stolen enough money from the middle class, you can invest in securities and pay no taxes on your gains? These people aren't contributing to economic growth, can't you see that? They are the leeches on the system, not the middle class. Geez, get your economics lessens from someone other than that idiot Hannity.

The big majority of middle class people do have capital gains. Their retirements 401 k are vested in securities. Are you saying a majority of Americans are leeches? Oh don't forget the Union owned GM so Obama says the Union workers own GM. The greedy are the ones who want something for nothing do not want to either work for it or invest in it.

This letter and the one which follows it should be joined under the title "We've heard this crap before" and the text condensed to "DITTO!" Those whose only argument to support their candidate is the false accusation that Obama is a socialist, Marxist or communist and who cite the bogeymen (Alinsky, Soros and Ayers) simply are not able to mount a reality-based case as to why their candidate should be elected. Let's designate Tuesday and Thursday as "Same Tired Old Crap Days" on the AGN editorial pages and group the week's pile of letters making these same arguments over and over in one place.

Among the various "socialist" government programs that benefit us are social security, medicare, the fire department, the police department, the library, the NIH, the CDC, the FDA, national defense, education (no matter at which level of government), VA benefits including medical care and educations assistance... is that enough? I'm pretty sure that EVERY president of the United States supported these programs, including your beloved Ronald Reagan. But now, all of a sudden, the current president is a socialist because he thought the auto industry was worth saving and that 50 million uninsured Americans deserved health care. Give me a break. You can disagree with his policies all you want, but stop the stupid labeling. It serves no purpose.

The key to brainwashing people is to make them distrust anything but what you are telling them. Tell them you are giving them the whole truth, and no one else is. Once you accomplish that, you are all set. You call tell them whatever you want and they won't believe anyone who tells them differently.

Fox News cites the NY Post and the Washington Times, and Newsmax, it must be true, it has a source and Rush believes it and so does the preacher they listen to every Sunday. Pretty soon you have elected officials telling everyone that the UN is going to invade Lubbock, and they believe it! You hint that the President was born in Africa and they believe it.

I think the brain washing is from both sides and some/most all have fell in love with it. Thats why you cant see it, each side blames the others for all the problems...and then try to sound like they know the answers...lol.
Its boring & amusing at the same time...and sometime I fall for it...

JM, here is a link to the WSJ article explaining the preferential treatment to the unions by the Obama administration. You will probably have to cust and paste because I still have not figured out how to get this dang tablet to copy as a link.

James Madison, "Father of the Constitution" and chief author (1794): ""I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

jmav (10/13/12 at 9:43 pm): "yhmil, you don't even have a basic understanding of economics. Capital gains should not even be taxed at all? So once you have stolen enough money from the middle class, you can invest in securities and pay no taxes on your gains? These people aren't contributing to economic growth, can't you see that? They are the leeches on the system, not the middle class. Geez, get your economics lessens from someone other than that idiot Hannity." RESPONSE: When someone has to pay income tax on money he/she has earned and wants to invest in a (hopefully) money making enterprise, or buy land or other real property, including collectibles, and precious metals, then that money has already been taxed. Since the capital gains on land and other real property, including collectibles, and precious metals are due almost entirely to government-caused inflation (decrease in the buying power of the dollar), why should one have to pay a capital gains tax on that increase in value? As to the increase in value of a security, or stocks, the same thing applies.

Why do you think that people who invest in securities are leeches, and are not contributing to economic growth, jmav. Without people willing to invest in securities, there will be no capital on which one can increase output or pay higher wages, so you are wrong that those who invest in income producing properties are not contributing to society.

It is those who take and take from society without returning anything to it, like those on welfare , who are the leeches on society, jmav.

When you call another person an idiot, jmav, you negate any point that you think you are making, especially when you make such a charge solely because of your hatred of that person's political views.

James Madison, "Father of the Constitution" and chief author (1794): ""I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

stillnat, when has the president proven that he was born anywhere but Africa? Even his attorneys admit that the so-called "birth certificate" on the internet is a fraudulent document.

Why did obama not register with the Selective Service system until 2008, when he was 47 years old, instead of at 18 as the selective service law requires? Is it not because he believed that since he was a foreigner, born in another country, he was not required to register with Selective Service? Why does Obama have two different Selective Service accounts, one bearing the only two digit year date that was apparently issued in 1980. All other Selective Service cards issued in 1980 have document locator numbers beginning with the four digit year number (1980), but obama's starts with "80".

James Madison, "Father of the Constitution" and chief author (1794): ""I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents."

YoDaddy (10/14/12 at 10:53 am): "Labels. Among the various "socialist" government programs that benefit us are social security, medicare, the fire department, the police department, the library, the NIH, the CDC, the FDA, national defense, education (no matter at which level of government), VA benefits including medical care and educations assistance... is that enough?" RESPONSE: YoDaddy like most liberals cannot tell the difference between the functions of the federal government and the state governments, perhaps because he/she thinks that the federal government does everything (in violation of the Constitution). Fire departments, police departments, and libraries, all of which were originally supplied by private enterprise in this country, are functions of city (local) government, not the federal government. So is education.

There is nothing in the constitution which allows the federal government to provide social security, medicare, or other health care to the general public, yodaddy. VA benefits are only allowable because they are part of the maintenance of an army and a navy, and are a good recruiting tool for our all-volunteer armed forces. The National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration are not authorized by the constitution either.

yodaddy (post cited): " I'm pretty sure that EVERY president of the United States supported these programs, including your beloved Ronald Reagan. But now, all of a sudden, the current president is a socialist because he thought the auto industry was worth saving and that 50 million uninsured Americans deserved health care. Give me a break. You can disagree with his policies all you want, but stop the stupid labeling. It serves no purpose." RESPONSE: THis president is a socialist. PERIOD. His actions in intervening in the GM Bankruptcy proceeding were illegal and unconstitutional, and were a direct takeover by the federal government of a private enterprise, one of the definitions of socialism. And as stated, nothing in the constitution authorizes the federal government to provide health care for the general public. That is another example of the socialist mentality to rob from some to give to others. Marx once said "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." which describes obama's actions. BTW, yodaddy, many people believe Reagan was a republican in name only, since he advocated many of the same SOCIALIST programs (social security and medicare) that the SOCIALIST FDR espoused. There was never anything in any part of the Constitution that ever authorized expenditures on Social Security or Medicare. THere still is no such constitutional authorization.

Which candidate espouses heading back? It damn sure isn't Romney. Is he going to remove all regulation from the economy? Until and unless someone does that, you are not talking about capitalism. The fact is that capitalism is not the preferred system. We have to have some regulation over the economy.

Romney/Ryan are talking populism my friend. If the government imposes moral controls on its people it is populist or fascist. If the government interferes with a woman's right to make a contract with her employer for medical benefits based on a moral code - that is fascism.